


Taking a Dive

by NachoDiablo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accidents, Awkward Flirting, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Discussion of Drowning, M/M, Running, idk how to tw tag for their dumb asses fall into the washington monument pool, meet ugly, water accidents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 15:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19397215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/pseuds/NachoDiablo
Summary: This was it. This time, Steve would slow down and strike up a conversation with the cute-as-hell stranger he'd been lapping all morning.Every time he made his way to cutie's side, he’d lost the nerve to slow down. Instead, he’d breezed on by, calling out a quickon your leftright before he passed.Cutie had been a good sport about Steve's cheerful goading so far, but every man had his limits, no matter how tight Steve's shirt was.And Steve's shirt wastight.





	Taking a Dive

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Marvel Undercover 2019: Meet Ugly prompt, "During the "on your left" running scene, Steve trips Sam and they both wipe out hard on the pavement."

Steve's shoulders squared as he came up behind a very familiar pair of sweatpants running along the Washington Monument pool. This was it. This time, Steve would slow down and strike up a conversation with the cute-as-hell stranger he'd been lapping all morning. 

Every time he made his way to cutie's side, he’d lost the nerve to slow down. Instead, he’d breezed on by, calling out a quick  _ on your left _ right before he passed.

Cutie had been a good sport about Steve's cheerful goading so far, but every man had his limits, no matter how tight Steve's shirt was.

And Steve's shirt was  _ tight. _

This wasn't the first morning Steve had hung around the mall in hopes of making a move. It was merely the first morning he'd felt prepared enough to actually  _ make  _ a move. Sure, his moves thus far had been limited to tease, then flee, but still. Progress was progress.

But it was time to step it up and actually introduce himself to the cutie in USAF gear whose smile made Steve’s heart flutter. Steve knew exactly how it would go down. They would run alongside each other for a bit as they exchanged pleasantries and comments about the weather. Steve would drag cutie for being slow, and cutie would shoot back with something snappy. While they cooled down, Steve would suggest that they grab coffee, or maybe breakfast if cutie needed something with sustenance. Natasha had given him the names of a few places that were low profile and within walking distance. Cutie would say yes, flash Steve one of those smiles, and they’d be on their way.

Or else cutie would give him the brush off, and then Steve would hightail it out of there and not stop running until he was three states away, never to return.

Steve took a deep breath, then started to slow his pace. Cutie looked back over his shoulder briefly, hollering “Don’t you say it!” breathlessly as he struggled to speed up.

A thrill of excitement charged through Steve. He couldn’t let that challenge slide by. It had nothing to do with chickening out, he told himself. It was a matter of honor at this point. Steve had never shied away from the chance to be a sassy little shit, and he wasn’t about to start now. He’d have to lap cutie one more time.

Steve pushed his speed to the limit as he closed the distance between them. “On your-- AUGH!”

The toe of Steve’s sneaker caught on the pavement, and Steve careened into cutie at his top speed. Cutie gasped as they hurtled together into the pool, tangled in a mess of sweaty limbs.

Steve panicked as he realized that their velocity paired with the shallowness of the pool (and the presumed lack of supersoldier serum running through cutie’s veins) would likely result in some nasty injuries. It took milliseconds for them to breach the surface of the water, but it was enough time for Steve to wrap his arms around cutie and shift them so that Steve’s back took the brunt of the impact.

The water’s friction burned Steve’s skin through his thin shirt, but that pain was nothing compared to the electrifying jolt of his ass and spine hitting the floor of the pool. All the air exited Steve’s lungs in one harsh breath, and he choked as he took in water on his inhale. He sputtered and blinked beneath the murky water, pinned under the impressively firm weight of cutie, who struggled against Steve’s chest for a few moments until Steve realized that he hadn’t released his grip. 

He immediately loosened his arms from around cutie’s waist, and the weight against his chest disappeared. Before Steve could inhale another lungful of water, two strong hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him up to a seated position above the surface. A heavy fist pounded against Steve’s back as he coughed up a waterfall of what was no doubt bacteria laden pool water.

“You alright?” Cutie crouched in front of Steve and placed his hands back on Steve's shoulders. His sweatshirt was soaked through, and his expression was a perfect mixture of amusement and annoyance. 

“Yeah,” Steve wheezed. He spat out another mouthful of water, not missing the disgusting grimace on cutie’s face. Embarrassment flooded through him as he peered back up at cutie. “Sorry, I didn’t… are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Better than you, anyway.” The left corner of cutie’s face turned upwards. “You gotta work on your skills, man. Pretty sure that when you try and drown someone, you’re not supposed to drown yourself along with them.”

Steve’s jaw dropped. The smirk on cutie’s face was smug enough to rival one of his own. He noticed cutie’s eyes dart down to subtly roam over Steve’s chest, where his shirt, now drenched, clung even tighter across his pecs. Steve realised that cutie’s hands were still on his shoulders, and no attempt was being made to remove them.

“Well,” Steve said with a grin, “I’m pretty sure that when someone tries to drown you, you’re not supposed to save them when they muck it up.”

Cutie shrugged. “What can I say? I’m not one to follow the rules.” He dropped his hands from Steve’s shoulders and stood up. “I’m Sam Wilson.”

Sam reached down to help Steve to his feet. He didn’t rush to let go of Steve’s hand once they were both standing, which made Steve grin even wider.

“I’m Steve. Steve Rogers.”

“I figured,” Sam said dryly. “Nice to meet you.”

“It is?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Even after I tried to drown you?”

Sam chucked. “Nicer than you trying to give me a heart attack on my morning run! I got a chance to cool off and catch my breath at least.”

“Looked like you needed it,” Steve said slyly. “You were having trouble keeping up.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I was holding my own! And  _ you’re _ the one who tripped over his own damn feet. At least I got style.”

“You do,” Steve agreed. “I’m, uh, sorry again. Can I make it up to you? Buy you breakfast or something?”

“Man, do you know how many diseases I probably contracted from that nasty ass water?” Sam laughed. “You owe me a lot more than just breakfast.” A slow, easy smile spread across his face. “Breakfast is a pretty good start, though.”

Steve smiled back. Sam’s hand was still clasped with his own. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out the other meet uglies for this year's fest!


End file.
